The mission
by Damascus ari
Summary: Short AU one shot. It was a directive. An order. The parting words of a man one foot in the grave. To honor that, they had endured. Now it was over. The secrets could be revealed.


Insert standard disclaimer here  
A.N. This one shot is AU. That means it contains significant divergence from canon. This is Damascus' first posted fanfic, so he apologizes for any errors that may exist. Feel free to flame, but do try to write something different than "you suck."  
###

Sakura stared at him. "What do you mean, you were in ANBU? When? How come you never said?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. The 20 year old still wore an orange jumpsuit, despite attaining the position of hokage. "I couldn't. Sworn to secrecy and all that."

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "Why now, then?"

"Well, I'm no longer supposed to keep it a secret, y'know, with me being the hokage and all."

"I... you should have said, or hinted at something!"

"..."

"Naruto? What was your mask?"

"If I told you you'd have to die." He said with mock seriousness.

"Naruto..."

His face broke into a sheepish grin. "Truth is, I don't remember! When you leave all your knowledge of the masks is erased."

"Kakashi sensei remembers."

"The hokage is entitled to make exceptions. 'Sides, he only knows his own."

She looked at him pointedly.

"Well, um, I kinda didn't think of that..."

"Naruto-baka..."

* * *

Sai looked up from his painting. "Kakashi sempai." He acknowledged.

"I came here to ask you about something."

The younger's smile looked natural. "Please ask, sempai."

"You see, there are some people that have been acting strangely lately..."

* * *

"Shika?" muttered Choji hesitantly.

"Hmm?" came the mumble.

"I... have something to tell you."

"Eh?"

"Well... I was in ANBU, as a kid."

"... mendokuse... how long?"

"Since the chunin exams..."

"Why now?"

"I felt the vow to secrecy drop and... you're my best friend, Shika. I can't stand lying to you."

"... it's nice you've finally admitted that."

* * *

"Say, Naruto has lacked his usual bounciness today." continued the one-eyed jounin.

"Have you considered he might have constipation, sempai?" Came the leveled reply.

The copy ninja blanched. "Ahem. No. Well, Choji didn't eat as much as usual..."

* * *

"Lee, would you consider ANBU a scary place?" Tenten voiced her thoughts.

The green beast of Konoha turned sharply at her words, his usual bright smile replaced by a mild frown. "Yes. It saps our youthful strength and makes it hard to go on."

"So... you say I shouldn't join?"

He brightened up considerably. "No! If that is your youthful desire then I will not stop you!"

"Uh, okay. I'm still unsure though."

He looked contemplatively at her. "I can tell you about working there, if you want."

"Huh?"

"Great! First, there will be an evaluation! Then..."

* * *

Kakashi frowned. "Lee's been having strange mood swings in the past few hours."

"Perhaps he still cannot let go of his late sensei?" suggested Sai.

"This is very recent."

"Then he might have problems with his relationship with the subject of his liking."

* * *

Ino sat down on the bench, tired from the entire day of work. The family gardens had to be taken care of, and that came on top of her being a kunoichi.

Fortunately the number of reports she had to write had greatly diminished since Naruto became hokage. The orange loving man held a distinct hate for all manners of paperwork and worked tirelessly to minimalize the amount of it.

Still, the day in, day out, twenty-four-seven duty she had as a jounin sensei and gardener took it's toll.

She knew she shouldn't complain, as the tasks could not compare to her days in ANBU. It had been hell on earth, and thank Kami for secrecy seals or everyone would have known, as right after the chunin exams the work on the late Sandaime's dying wish had begun.

Many sleepless nights and avoiding teammates and friends alike had ensued, leaving her on the edge for almost three years. No one had suspected though. It was for the best then.

Maybe when the seals... she felt them dissolve. No longer bound to silence. She was free to say what she knew.

It was time to visit Shino.

* * *

"Ino had not complained even once since morning. This is worrying." The Hatake surmised.

"Likely, she... hmm." The smile became a bit less natural. "The seals have been released. The secret is out."

"Secret?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the clearance to tell you, sempai. Please ask the hokage."

* * *

"Naruto, care to explain?" asked Kakashi in a distinctly annoyed voice.

"Heh, well, you see..." answered the rokudaime hokage with hesitance.

It was going to be a long evening.


End file.
